Description

The Wellington Mk III in the garage

The Wellington Mk III is a Rank II British bomber
with a battle rating of 3.3 (AB), 3.0 (RB), and 4.0 (SB). This aircraft has been in the game since the start of the Open Beta Test prior to Update 1.29.

General info

Flight Performance

Characteristics

Stock

Max Speed(km/h at 4,572 m)

Max altitude(meters)

Turn time(seconds)

Rate of climb(meters/second)

Take-off run(meters)

AB

RB

AB

RB

AB

RB

396

384

7 000

31.7

32.5

3.1

3.1

650

Upgraded

Max Speed(km/h at 4,572 m)

Max altitude (meters)

Turn time (seconds)

Rate of climb(meters/second)

Take-off run (meters)

AB

RB

AB

RB

AB

RB

441

418

7 000

28.4

30.0

10.2

5.3

650

Details

Features

Combat flap

Take-off flap

Landing flap

Air brakes

Arrestor gear

✓

✓

✓

✓

X

Limits

Wing-break speed(km/h)

Gear limit(km/h)

Combat flap (km/h)

Max Static G

+

-

530

264

450

~2

~1

Optimal velocities

Ailerons(km/h)

Rudder(km/h)

Elevators(km/h)

Radiator(km/h)

< 290

<290

< 320

>180

Compressor (RB/SB)

Setting 1

Optimal altitude

100% Engine power

WEP Engine power

1,762 m

2,650 hp

3,066 hp

Setting 2

Optimal altitude

100% Engine power

WEP Engine power

4,429 m

2,400 hp

2,777 hp

Survivability and armour

9 mm Steel plate in the pilot's seat.

No armour glazing

Critical components located in the wings of aircraft (fuel, engine, controls)

Usage in the battles

As with any bomber, your main job is to bomb ground targets. Regardless of nation, bombers are designed to use speed and defensive guns to reach their target and return home. Unfortunately, somebody forgot to tell that to the Wellington's designer. Not only is this bomber slow, it also lacks any effective protective armour for the crew. The only good news here is the payload. With a max payload of 2045.5 kg or 4500 pounds, the Wellington can do some damage to enemy ground units. It can also carry a single 4000 pound bomb nicknamed "Cookie". This is great for nailing enemy bases, but the required removal of the bomb bay doors hampers aerodynamics, hence therefore reduces your already poor speed. Now, the Wellington can survive a fair amount of damage and keep flying, provided that it only receives fire from low caliber weapons. Unfortunately, the He 111H-6 has got less guns, but is faster and tougher with almost the same payload on the same battle rating. The He 111H-16 is better in many ways.

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements

Mixer

Pitch

Radiator

Supercharger

Turbocharger

Oil

Water

Type

Not controllable

Controllable

Not controllable

Controllable

Combined

Controllable

Not controllable

Modules

Tier

Flight performance

Survivability

Weaponry

I

Fuselage Repair

Radiator

II

Compressor

Airframe

III

Wings Repair

Engine

IV

Engine Injection

Cover

Pros and cons

Pros:

Has twice as many tail guns as its predecessor.

Can carry a reasonable maximum payload for a medium bomber.

Engines seem to be immortal, and are will remain operational even under heavy fire.

Can survive belly landings if need be.

Half decent at operating in the gunship role.

Engines are capable of using WEP.

Cons:

Weaponry consists purely of 7.7mm machine guns, making fighting against fighters a serious challenge at best.

Low speed makes the lack of defensive guns painfully obvious.

Anything with a cannon will be able to kill you without a lot of trouble.

Gun turrets have no armour, meaning you will often find your self with multiple dead gunners when you are attacked.

Although you can carry torpedoes, they are some of the worst ones in the game do to the terrible drop requirements.

Tail controls are easily knocked out.

History

The Vickers Wellington was a twin-engine medium bomber used by RAF Bomber Command and Coastal Command. In May 1939 a prototype Wellington was fitted with Bristol Hercules engines; after successful trials with a converted Mk.IC, this model was launched for full-scale production at the beginning of 1941 under the designation of Wellington Mk.III (Type 417).

Building on the experience amassed by Wellington crews, the defensive armament was upgraded on later models; the Frazer-Nash FN-5A rear turret with two 0.303 inch machine guns was replaced with a Frazer-Nash FN-20 turret holding four 0.303 inch machine guns with 2,000 rounds each. The take-off weight of the Mk.III was increased to 15,650 kg while bomb capacity was reduced to 4,000 lbs (1,814 kg). Originally, the bomber was to be equipped with a ventral turret, the low-drag Frazer-Nash FN-21A, but the further decrease in bomb capacity was deemed to be unacceptable.

The Mk.III had its armor reinforced, all fuel tanks were self-sealing and barrage balloon cable cutters were positioned in the leading edge of the wings.

By 1941 the Wellington was used almost exclusively at night and, therefore, attention was given to decreasing the area of the glazing that visibly reflected moonlight or searchlight beams during night flights. To that end, the Mk.III differed from the late Mk.IC aircraft by removing side glazing and the side blisters of the bombardier/navigator's cockpit. The only side glazing that remained was from the trapezoidal gun blisters.

The Wellington Mk.III was manufactured until the end of 1943, and a combined total of 1,519 bombers were produced.

Media

An excellent addition to the article will be video guides, as well as screenshots from the game and photos.

Read also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example,